The End of an Era for Accessible Tourism

Discovery Holidays Announces the End of Supported Travel Services Amid Insurance Crisis

[Perth WA, 18 Feb 25] – After 12 years of providing structured, supported travel experiences, Discovery Holidays is announcing the end of its supported travel services. This follows a major shift in the insurance market, which has made it impossible to secure coverage for our core business activities specifically overnight disability support in non-residential settings.

With no available insurers willing to underwrite this service, Discovery Holidays, despite a claims-free history, will deliver its final group tour in May 2025.

Why This Matters: A Loss of Freedom and Choice

Since 2013, Discovery Holidays has provided risk-managed, accredited tour experiences, ensuring that people with disabilities can travel safely and with dignity. Unlike informal holiday support services, Discovery Holidays has always operated as:

• An accredited travel agency (ATAS, Australian Tourism Accreditation).
• A licensed tour operator with stringent risk management protocols.
• A registered NDIS provider of disability support services, ensuring structured, compliant care for travelers who require assistance.

However, the blanket removal of insurance coverage for overnight disability support fails to distinguish between unstructured, ad-hoc NDIS-funded holidays and regulated, industry-accredited tourism providers like Discovery Holidays.

“This decision impacts not only NDIS-funded participants but also privately funded customers, many of whom have relied on our services for years,” said Kass Langdon, General Manager at Discovery Holidays. “It raises a serious question: why should a person with a disability lose the right to safely travel with support, even when paying for it privately?”

Additionally, insurers have suggested that common services such as  accompanying a regional participant to the city for a medical appointment and staying overnight in a hotel would now lack coverage. This creates significant challenges for those who rely on safe, structured travel to access essential services.

Are Other Providers Aware of This Risk?

At this stage, we don’t know whether all providers are facing the same restrictions. We encourage other services offering multi-day supported travel, overnight disability services, community based respite, or carer-accompanied tourism to:

• Check with their insurers to confirm whether their existing coverage will still be valid at renewal.
• Ask for written confirmation about any changes to coverage, particularly regarding overnight stays, group travel, and out-of-home support.
• Share their experiences, so that we as a sector can determine whether this is a pending issue that others have not yet encountered, or whether alternative solutions exist that could allow structured supported travel to continue.

It remains unclear whether major not-for-profit insurers will adopt the same exclusions, and it is possible that large organisations with diversified revenue streams may still be able to provide community based overnight services. However, for independent, specialised providers like Discovery Holidays, these changes have made supported travel non- viable service.

New Concerns: Restrictions on International Travel

We have also recently received direct feedback that NDIS funding—support-only hours— is not approved to pay support workers during international travel. While we do not yet have formal confirmation that this is a widespread restriction, it raises serious concerns about whether people with disabilities are facing further limitations on their ability to travel safely with support, even when privately funding their trip.

If this becomes standard practice, it would mean that individuals who require assistance to travel overseas would no longer be able to use their support hours, regardless of the purpose of their trip. This could affect work, family reunions, cultural events, and other essential life experiences.

Discovery Holidays’ Decision and What Comes Next

Given these challenges, Discovery Holidays has exhausted all options and will step away from the sector. However, we believe this is a conversation the industry needs to have now.

We encourage providers to proactively assess their risk exposure, seek formal clarification from insurers, and determine whether they need to adjust their business models to avoid disruption.

We also remain interested in exploring whether alternative structures could allow people with disabilities to travel together and share experiences, while complying with current insurance and regulatory frameworks.

Ongoing Advocacy & Industry Discussion

Discovery Holidays will continue advocating for greater clarity around these issues, and we invite other providers to share their experiences—whether they have encountered similar insurance difficulties or have found workable solutions that others should consider. If you have information or insights, we would love to hear from you.

Finally – Thankyou! 

We want to thank our loyal customers, dedicated staff, and industry partners for their unwavering support over the years. We are incredibly proud of the safe, inclusive, and empowering travel experiences we have delivered to over 500 members, and we are deeply disappointed that this chapter is coming to an end.

For further information, please contact the team:

Phone: 08 9441 44854
Email: kass@discoveryholidays.com.au
Website: www.socialsolutionswa.com.au